posted 03-05-99 01:50 PM ET        

So what I want to see in this thread is the more practical requests for new features. To start off, a really helpful enhancement would be to go to a report (the base report perhaps) and be able to see the minerals all my bases are producing. Right now if say I want to build a SP, I have to open up the base window, and click through every base to find one with high mineral production. It gets real tedious real fast when you have 30+ bases.

This shouldn't be too hard to implement I would imagine. Just add another tab in the base report MFD would suffice.

posted 03-05-99 02:06 PM ET            

2.auto goveners are smarter than the squirrels in my backyard.

3. a way of auto-producing satalites (having to click like 4 times to get a base to build another one is just crazy)

posted 03-05-99 04:54 PM ET            

Corrections I would like to see made for Patch 3.0:
1) Be able to build Temple of Planet facility before Voice of Planet is built. (By the time VoP is built, the game is almost over, so ToP's are relatively useless.)
2) Have the Space Elevator halve the cost of satellite production, not double mineral production during satellite production.

posted 03-05-99 07:04 PM ET            

1) New preferences:
- One to delete "Stockpile Energy" if the build queue is not empty.
- One to delete the current item being built if the first item on the queue changes.

2) Don't make choppers stop if they pass through a city on there way somewhere.

3) Reduce the overwhelming power of choppers by allowing them to attack only twice per turn, or some such.

4) Provide a place somewhere that acurately tells you how many votes you have BEFORE calling a council meeting. (No, the AC score report is not always accurate.)

posted 03-05-99 09:56 PM ET            

Make the game playable -- I have yet been able to finish a game. Towards the end I crash with a "terran" fatal error.

posted 03-05-99 10:48 PM ET            

2. A custom faction option where you can pick and choose bonuses and penalties on a point system. A certain bonus/penalty will have an asigned point value and the creator will have a limit to the amout of points allowed to be spent (anyone who has played Master of Orion II will know what I mean).

posted 03-06-99 12:49 PM ET            

Also, when you change the item you are building, you have to retool. I would like it to say how much you are losing.

Also, a list of all technologies and a way to ban governors from building certain technologies (such as genejack and pun. spheres). If you get greedy, you could ask to ban certain classes (sentinels, air, etc).

posted 03-06-99 02:50 PM ET            

Cities currently display what they are building. They should also display how many turns left to build that item, like this:

The Hive
(Colony Pod - 2 turns)

posted 03-06-99 03:52 PM ET            

5. The ability to name the units being designed would be nice. Take tese two situations: "Hey what are these Silksteel sentinels good for?"
"They are base defense units, moron."
-----vs.-----
"We're about to be attacked, build a few of those newly designed Super-Mega-Wonko-ower-Defese-Units."
"Yes, sir"

6. I do not think this is practical for the next patch but perhaps later, or in an add-on pack. I want trigger based occurances to be allowed in the scenario editor. ie
IF YEAR=2245, THEN CREATE ITEM (GARLAND CRATER) AT GRID (223,256) AND DISPLAY TEXT (BLAH, BLAH...)

7. I think that a rainfall setting should be able to be forcefully applied to a square in the map editor.

posted 03-06-99 09:44 PM ET            

1. Air transport units.

posted 03-06-99 10:04 PM ET         

This should be easy, please do it. If required place a "hotspot" along the edge of the screen in so that the normal "map dragging" works but the hotspot could be hit to pop up the console. When cursor leaves console - hide it.

posted 03-07-99 08:08 AM ET         

I kinda rambled there, hope everyone got the gist okay...

posted 03-07-99 09:01 AM ET            

Anywayz, id just like to say that with your suggestion, it would help balance out the endgame, making achieving trancendance harder to do, as it should be

posted 03-07-99 10:58 PM ET            

Another thing I'd LOVE to see a picture of the city window, It took me like 3 games to figure out where the heck that list of buildings was, Kinda like Master of magic, MoO MoO 2 Civ or CIV II picture of the city scape was so cool

also as stated by other people else where it would be REALLY nice to have differnt sounds!

posted 03-08-99 03:10 AM ET            

Also, it'd be great to be able to HURRY production in allied cities!

Why there is no messages on tech breakthroughs from spies? Of cause, you can look in their reports, but I think that it is very useful to be noticed about new tech acquired by those for whom spy reports are available. It was in civ2, but somewhy missing in SMAC. So commonly I am much less aware of my collegues achievments than in civ2.

It is annoying that you cannot determine the exact path of future river when giving 'drill to aquifer' order. Sometimes it goes anyhow but not how you expected. May be it's good to show that path when giving this order. I think it's determinable.

And, I agree that it's good to have more options about 'tech stagnation'. I've used that, and learned that rivals are not seems to be able to play with it. I've got almost all secret projects, and was far more advanced in techs, and this is on Thinker level. The result is, however, that now I have one ally -- UoP, and everybody else are vendetta (it's because UoP has good tech, too, I think). And it seems to me that I'll end all researches at the same century as commonly in the other games, but just somewhat later. But in the beginning of the game this option makes game somewhat easier -- just get the right tech, and build secret project. Noone will be able to cuncur you because they just can't get that tech.

When looking at terrain without improvements ('t' key) and trying to re-center view... Well, look yourself. Scary, isn't it?

posted 03-08-99 03:27 AM ET            

How about being able to give automatic formers some categories to auto build with, like 'optimize for energy', 'optimize for minerals', 'optimize for nutrients'.

More detailed faction dominance charts would be nice, to show things like Tech, Military, Population etc in a graph like output similar to the Total Power one that exists now.

A fix to the way that the AI playes the Morganites. They die way to easy and are almost always the first faction to get eliminated because the AI does not play to thier strengths.

posted 03-08-99 03:32 AM ET            

Being able to select how many factions you would like to play would be nice, that way I can play on Tiny maps without running into someone on the first or second turn (I like small maps).

posted 03-08-99 04:26 AM ET            

The idea of invisible probe teams appeals.

I concur that the choppers and drop troops are both too strong: oh I love to use one helicopter per city to be able to reduce the garrison, and a single drop troop to bounce-capture an enemy's every city, all in one turn, but it makes conquest a little too easy once that technology is available.

posted 03-08-99 07:10 AM ET            

2)Merge the queue and change build order. Very important.

3)Highlight missing tech's.
Just a small thing. I would like the tech's I don't have in the faction profile of other factions to be highlighted instead of having a star behind them. That way it's easier to see and also esthetical more pleasing.

4)I would like to reverse the upgrade button (or add a new button), so that when I have designed a unit I can press the upgrade button and select which units are being replaced by this new unit.

5)I would also like to see more designs in the design workshop at the same time, since I usually have more then 50 designs so that the scrolling takes a long time. Perhaps the pictures can be decreased in size. This is perhaps also a good idea for the contstructing/queue screen.

6)I have noticed that the displaying of information in the centre screen occassionally can take a long time. If there's added a preference that the information is shown at once instead letter by letter this might go faster.

7)I don't have much complaints about the graphics, they serve their goal. For instance I love the first page of the game, it really get's you in the mood. However there are a few annoying graphical issues which might be addressed without taking a lot of work.

These are: the first infantry units are to big in contrast to later infantry units, also the colony pod is to big, finally the helicopter and missile designs are ugly (sorry to be so negative, but they really spoil the atmosphere). This might also be fixed by making them smaller (especially the missile).

posted 03-08-99 07:35 AM ET            

1. "Create base" and "Edit Base" options in the scenario editor are absolutely vital, but sadly missing.

2. Unit editor alternatively an option for bitmapped units.

3. A proper faction editor.

posted 03-08-99 11:53 AM ET         

Let me frame someone other than eliminated players when using my probe teams. I can just hear CEO Morgan scream out "Argh! Those darn Spartans who died 80 years ago just stole Orbital Spaceflight!"

Probe teams should be sneakier. If a unit is in the next square, they should only be able to spot probe units, say, one-third of the time. They should be even harder to spot when hiding in fungus.

The governors are just not very helpful. If I click on Build, I want that city to start improving itself by building things like the Research Hospital or Biology Labs, not build AAA Cruiser Transports. Currently, I've got several cities who insist on making Shard Rovers, even though they're on Explore or Discover.

If I play the Believers (or Gaians or Spartans) and change gender to male, when I meet another male faction leader, I'd really like it if I was greeted as Pact Brother and not Pact Sister.

There shouldn't be trade pact possibilities between two factions if the factions haven't explored a land or sea route between them. If the Hive is on the other side of the world, I should be able to trade tech via commlink, create treaties, join into a pact, but we shouldn't have any logical way to exchange energy between his cities and mine.

If someone invades my territory and refuses to answer any communications, I should be able to repel his forces without damaging my integrity. I'm not going to wait for Yang to move six missle rovers deep into my territory without comment.

posted 03-08-99 12:10 PM ET         

If another faction captures one of my cities, it changes the look to that faction's. I'd like all my spoils of war change over to my faction's look. It'd make it easier when glancing over the map to determine if that really is one of Corazon's outposts or if it's one I've taken over.

Other factions can demand a certain tech from me, but I can only ask for tech in general from another faction. I'd like to be able to ask for a specific type of tech, just like they do.

I'd like to see a global governor ability checklist so I can turn off "All Governors Can Build Transports" instead of having to go through each and every one of my cities and toggling that off.

While we're at it, how about getting the Build/Explore/Discover/Conquer thing to work correctly? Military units and the Conquer/Red base facilities should only be generated if Conquer is turned on, Planet Busters and Naval Yards should never be made if the gov is on Explore.

posted 03-09-99 05:01 AM ET            

> The governors are just not very helpful. If I click on Build, I want that city to start improving itself by building things like the Research Hospital or Biology Labs, not build AAA Cruiser Transports. Currently, I've got several cities who insist on making Shard Rovers, even though they're on Explore or Discover.
- Look at the Advanced Options in the area where you assign governor in the city screen. (arrows down near 'governor' sign). There's many customizations available. At all, I think the governors are anyway dumb, it's much more effective to micromanage yourself or use queues. It takes much more time, though...

> There shouldn't be trade pact possibilities between two factions if the factions haven't explored a land or sea route between them. If the Hive is on the other side of the world, I should be able to trade tech via commlink, create treaties, join into a pact, but we shouldn't have any logical way to exchange energy between his cities and mine.
- hmm... Counting these ideas will make game much harder. Just imagine this. You need trade way -- so we've to count the length of that way, this, in its turn, makes us to count that way when determining the values of trade; again, then we have to let rivals to intercept routes... and so on.

> If another faction captures one of my cities, it changes the look to that faction's. I'd like all my spoils of war change over to my faction's look. It'd make it easier when glancing over the map to determine if that really is one of Corazon's outposts or if it's one I've taken over.
- Don't think that first fact is correct, it must be fixed. It'll be more realistic. BTW, don't you notice the color of bases?

posted 03-09-99 05:19 AM ET            

I wonder they might be angry on people who tries to tell them how do they make their job (I mean those who posts here), or, the contrary, getting new ideas for their new patch. At all, the SMAC is a VERY large project. In the comparison with most other projects, it is VERY complex, and to make it easy to handle (I mean gameplay) is VERY non-trivial and resource-costly job. So the excellence is far from here, IMHO. So, do they actually work on all this stuff, or everything here is just a worthless prattle? If not so, what ideas are possibly to be implemented?

posted 03-09-99 01:54 PM ET         

- Look at the Advanced Options in the area where you assign governor in the city screen. (arrows down near 'governor' sign). There's many customizations available....

===

Exactly, but when you select Build, the governor should be creating the Build/yellow base facilities instead of creating military units. The way the govs are presented they should be doing this, the user shouldn't have to muck around with the customizations. Especially when you can just toggle on/off "Gov may build base facilities" instead of "Gov may build red/green/yellow/blue base facilities".

===

> If another faction captures one of my cities, it changes the look to that faction's. I'd like all my spoils of war change over to my faction's look....

- Don't think that first fact is correct, it must be fixed. It'll be more realistic. BTW, don't you notice the color of bases?

===

posted 03-09-99 03:45 PM ET         

1. The AI of formers needs work. I too have seen formers race round and round on mag tubes and then build something out of the city boundries.

posted 03-10-99 12:11 AM ET            

1. The combat report screen scroles off the bottom of the window if a unit has to many modifiers.

2. An aircraft or missle on auto move, that runs into a non desination base will end its turn. Please fix

3. A sound or message when an aircraft runs out of fuel. I lost 4 aircraft in my first game before I figured out what was happioning

4. It would be nice to have the colored bar at the bottom of the screen showing that the computer is working and not in eternal transcendent thought. In mid game my computer can take up to 10 min, to make its move.

5. A missile payload that is between a conventional and Plant Buster, a surgical strike weapon. And extend missile travel for better reactors.

I will send more as things bug me.

posted 03-10-99 12:23 AM ET            

Note that you should be allowed to declare 'Vendetta' against a faction in the diplomacy menus. I kinda miss those old CivII popups telling me they have decided to rid the world of my worthless civilisation.

posted 03-10-99 01:01 AM ET         

The Space Elevator: It needs to be that it halves the time to make orbital improvements, not double mineral production.

Economic Victory: The numbers are sometimes wrong as to what year victory will occur.

Planet Busters: You should be able to set "self-destruct" on these to cause normal explosion/crater where you wish.

Attempted Atrocities: If someone attempts (and fails due to Orbital Defense Pods) to nuke, it should be an atrocity.

Diplomacy: Some factions act just plain wrong in the computers hands. The Morganites, for example, stand to gain greatly from having many Pacts/Treaties; instead, they have been warlike in every game I've played.

posted 03-11-99 11:56 AM ET            

2) Not sure if its a bug or new feateure, but dont have all the city voices overlap (drone riots/production complete) cause they always overlap when I play, and it gets annoyin when I have 30+ cities.

3) How about an upgraded datalinks! I mean, that has to be the #1 complaint about SMAC. They just don't tell you enough, and the 200 page manual has to have been a joke. I think this is my biggest concern.

4) Fix the numerous problems with the comm windows! (Drag and drop/ messages that never appear)

5) and finally what is the deal w/ the AI movement of units? I've seen almost every faction fly 20+ planes around an enemy territory and NOT attack (even w/ a vendetta) and I've seen The HIVE move a unit in a loop on mag tubes just going around and around about 10 times?! How about an option to skip the enemy turns (not all the time just by hitting esc or tab or something)

posted 03-11-99 12:00 PM ET         

The ability to add an argument to the command line in the icon so that the game starts up with the latest save (auto or manual) ready loaded.

posted 03-12-99 07:06 AM ET            

Everytime I start again I have to recall my strategical and economical thoughts from the last time. Later in the game that's really hard. With a printed info on production, development, technologies, bases etc. it would be much easier to go on.

You could just sit back and check the status without clicking through all of the menus before making the next move.

A kind of notepad as part of SMAC would be nice too. You could write down things like "Don't forget to nuke Lal tomorrow" or "Have to check economics on this or that base" or "Remember to eat and sleep" without leaving the game.

posted 03-16-99 06:26 AM ET            

also make them pay war repreations(sp?) say for every city they have when they surrender they pay you one energy a year for a hundred years just like a loan

i know that it would be relatively easily to program in those two paramaters

also military units should take up population so for like every four military units a city builds that creates a soldier icon in the city which would be like all the other specalists (docter engineer ect.) he can't work the land and basically does nothing and depending on your support rating he can subtract from your economy and labs rating

so instead of giving a bonus this soldier specialist would take away you have four support it doesn't do anything you have negative four support the soldier specialist cost you -2 economy and -2 labs

that sounds a little harsh but their is a way to get around this attach a mercenary special ability to one of the military doctrines which you could add to soldiers which would mean that it either wouldn't creat the soldier specalist in your city or the soldier specialist wouldn't hurt your labs and economy here's the scale

the second military unit creates a soldier specalist in most cases so if you only have one unit there isn't a penalty the second unit creates the soldier specailist and the the 6 unit makes the next soldier in your town and for every four more units you would get another soldier however in the case you have four support the third unit would create a soldier in your town and the next soldier would come when you had eight units and then every five more units creates a new soldier and if you negative four support the first unit you made would create a soldier with another soldier specailist created with every three more units you make

four: 5 units to a soldier specailist no penalties first solider at three units

3: 4 to a soldier no penalties soldier 1st at 2 units

2: 4 to a soldier first two soldiers no penalty -1 econ after that soldier 1st at 2 units

1: 4 to a soldier first soldier free -1 econ after that 1st at 2 units

0: 4 to a soldier -1 econ 1st at 2 units

-1: 4 to a solider -1 econ -1 labs 1st at two units

-2: 4 to a soldier -2 econ -1 labs 1st at two units

-3: 4 to a soldier -2 econ -2 labs 1st at 2 units

-4: 3 to a soldier -2 econ -2 labs 1st at one unit

and of course when units die or disband the soldier specalist goes away turns into a normal citizen

posted 03-16-99 02:24 PM ET            

Ability to name an individual unit. Like giving a ship a name, calling an infantry unit the 4th Batallion, 2nd Armored Brigade etc., etc.

I figured the default could be easily set to name a unit the xth Impact Infantry, etc., etc.

posted 03-17-99 03:46 AM ET            

1) Most builder-style players won't use the governors, and making them much better or very configurable would be a fair bit of work, so reduce the number of clicks.

Add a "build to +10 minerals" command in the F4 screen drop menu. This is by far the most efficient way to buy items quickly, so make it less work, especially since pollution restrictions make buying so important. I do this all the time in the later stages, and it currently takes lots of clicks and some simple arithmetic. Multiply that by 15 or more cities and it is a real pain. An option to finish the queue automatically buying to +10 minerals each turn would also be nice.

Anyone who agrees, please speak up so maybe this one will be implemented (it would only take a few minutes to code, I'd do it myself if they'd let me see the source).

posted 03-17-99 10:10 AM ET            

1) Make it possible to see what Social Models a faction is operating under. (Just for the fun of seeing what they're using.)

2) An optional setting that restricts any captured/stolen techs to those that the faction already has the required pre-requisites.

3) The ability to make the higher level techs take even longer to research. (Getting a new high-level tech every couple turns can be fun/interesting, but I'd like the option to play other ways.)

4) Remove the 500 turn limit. (I've yet to hit it, but I really don't like the idea of it being there.)

5) (Seconding someone else's suggestion) Create a condition between Truce and Vendetta. (Or at least make it clear if a faction hates you because you're powerfull, or because they think you've done something nasty to them, or because you're weak.)

6) (Almost certainly more trouble than it's worth) It appears that the "VOTE" parameter in the faction files accpets only whole numbers. (True?) I'd like it to take decimals. (This would make lowering a faction's votes much easier.)

7) A little something in the text on the satelite screen making plain the difference between "deployed" and "undeployed" defensives.

posted 03-17-99 02:29 PM ET            

An agenda (thanks Doctor D) so that you can say: In 2466, tell me :"Have a break, take a day off."

Using nerve-gas on empty cities. Or just bombing empty cities. Ever heard of Dresden?

Ability to put anything in the build queue (4 defense pods, hybrid farm even if I haven't built a tree farm yet.)

The ability to build hologram theatre before rec. commons, or tachyon field before perimeter defense.

Have the ability to upgrade production, but not units (when you're short on cash).

Get rid of the standard unit designs (scout patrol, supply crawlers, spies, etc). I have to make them obsolete manually tons of times per game. If I want them, I'll prototype them myself.

Making it impossible to upgrade units not in bases. Now you upgrade a quantum drop trained infantry to a blink anti-grav quantum infantry, just after dropping it near an enemy base, AND fight with it on the same turn (if you upgrade all units of that type).

Having upgrading all units of a type cost their movement points.

Fix the build queue. (enough good propositions in this thread).

Reduce the movement range of copters to 6. It's realistic, and it fixes the advantage that copters have over needlejets.

Make it impossible to have pre-fab Special Projects, which allow you to build a new SP in 1 turn as soon as you get the tech. Put the 50% penalty on switching between SPs, make sure that supply crawlers come into a "reservoir" which doubles your mineral production (but not more) and apply the more expensive buy rules that go for combat units also to special projects.

PERHAPS: make it possible to build more than one special project. The one who builds the project last gets ridiculed by the other factions, + may be drone riots or lower support due to collective shame, but you still get the effect.

Make morale mean something. Out-of-the-box elite units are no fun at all. You completely miss the fun of touring around, trying to get your recon rover to elite. Maybe add experience (but this means a BIG change).
I also second Sinapus' request for naming individual units.

What about "development aid?" Setting aside 20% of your income and using it to buy improvements in underdeveloped bases. You can do this manually, but with 30 bases that isn't much fun.

I also second the WAR state between truce and vendetta.

The SP that gives you +2 minerals - forgot its name - is plain silly. 4 nessus mining stations are cheaper and more effective. Change it to something useful. +1 industry would be a logical, if not very original solution.

posted 03-19-99 08:03 AM ET            

I think it would give a much more realistic and modern feeling if you could launch these projectiles instead of moving them manually. You would only have to press a fire-button and select a target (which seems to me to be visually very attractive).

In fact an infinite movement rate for missiles seems to be in order. Since there's a need for progress in the game, you could start with a range of say a tenth of the playing field and discovery of new tech's would eventually increase this to infinite range (which, looking at the present state of technology, is quite credible, actually rather what the players expect).

A city improvement called missile silo (with a limited storage capacity, for instance for 5 missiles, which optionally could be expended) would have to be build in a city to be able to build a missile in (and store in and launch from) that city. A missile wouldn't act as a defender in case of an attack, it would just be a piece of equipment the attacker could capture. Also it would be very interesting if you could make boobytraps with these missiles: that the missiles or PB's would explode when someone captured the city. This could really slow down an enemy offensive, but would have to be an attrocity.

Also an extra unit type would be needed; the missile crawler. This unit would be able to transport missiles (in case of evacuation or to increase your range) and to launch missiles: special ability missile storage.

posted 03-19-99 08:56 AM ET            

Also, I hate when I'm trying to move a unit from point A to point B, and it happens to pass by another unit causing its movement to halt. I then have to hold its hand while it goes around the other unit until it encounters free space again. I can see the reason for this if you're going into enemy territory, but otherwise, it slows the game.

One more thing. Why is it that when I hail an opponent that I'm in conflict with, they can refuse to accept my transmission but in the next turn they throw an insult at me w/o giving me the chance to accept or decline. I want the ability to shove my insults down their throats too.

posted 03-19-99 10:03 PM ET            

Also, ELIMINATE the fuel restriction on aircraft/choppers. If humanity can get to AC in the first place, they can build aircraft with negligible fuel restrictions. The landcraft dont seem to need them. You can give them a maintenance restriction instead though one not so severe.

A little more subtlety in the diplomacy rules. This is a Sid Meier game after all!

Finally, compulsory electric shocks from your computer after more than 3 hours continuous play to break its addictiveness!

posted 03-19-99 10:05 PM ET            

I would like to see the automation for terraformers work better - mine seem to go in for just swanning around and long coffee breaks while the other AI led factions actually build stuff! Or am I too soft on my drones?

Also, ELIMINATE the fuel restriction on aircraft/choppers. If humanity can get to AC in the first place, they can build aircraft with negligible fuel restrictions. The landcraft dont seem to need them. You can give them a maintenance restriction instead though one not so severe.

A little more subtlety in the diplomacy rules. This is a Sid Meier game after all!

Finally, compulsory electric shocks from your computer after more than 3 hours continuous play to break its addictiveness!

posted 03-29-99 12:03 AM ET            

Furthermore, we should be able to Go to any square, by keyboard description as well as by mouse.

Speaking of auto-forwarding, we should be able to specify which unit types to auto-forward, and which to automate normally; the others would stay at home.

Groups. Why can't military groups be like fleets in Space Empires 3 or better? Allow us to name a group (eg Shadow Force, or Uncanny X-Men, or numbers for the unimaginative), and assign units to each group. Then you could order the group to attack enemy city A, and they would.

I had a very satisfying experience in a recent game, where two automated troops decided on their own initiative to converge on a _remote_ enemy (Spartan) city; they arrived near the city at about the same time, proceeded to attack it simultaneously, then took it the next turn! Now _that's_ what I call a coordinated attack. Since the AI knows to do that, we should be able to form a group and command it to do that. (Correct, Brian?)

Carlos's missile booby trap sounds dandy: in late game, we'd drop a colony into the middle of the enemy's industrial heartland, drop a planet buster into the city, booby trap the PB, and dare the enemy to take it.

As a counter-measure, we'd also need Equipment for a Bomb Disposal unit, with a success rate dependent on morale (aka experience). That would be nail-biting stuff! (Will the team disarm the bomb and capture the city, or will we lose half the continent?)

Just to be mean, an enemy should be able to rest a PB on am open field or ocean square, to create a hazard: a PB mine, as it were. Any inappropriately equipped non-allied unit (land, sea or air) that stumbles into it, sets it off.

posted 03-29-99 12:54 AM ET            

Governors should prevent eco-damage and drone riots, not cause them.